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  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Yes, it’s just in my dreams?”

  She meant to say yes again, she really did. She even opened her mouth to say it, because this was insane, this incredible . . . craving she had for him. It made no sense. Less than no sense, and yet . . .

  She went up on tiptoe and touched her mouth to his.

  He froze for a single beat, and then he was kissing her back. And in that very moment, it suddenly made perfect sense. As his hands dropped hers and his arms came around her, she felt . . . moved, more moved than she could ever remember. It was like her entire body had just come alive, and even more terrifying, her heart had come along for the ride. Again her throat tightened and her eyes prickled, but she didn’t pull away. She did the opposite. She tried to deepen the kiss but Caleb pulled back a fraction to look into her eyes, using his thumb to swipe at a tear she hadn’t even realized she’d shed.

  “What’s this?” he asked very quietly, cupping her face in his big hands.

  She shook her head. “I’ve got something in my eye.”

  “Try again.”

  “Arf!”

  They both looked down at Lollipop, who had pulled the leash as taut as she could to sit on one of Caleb’s feet and was staring up at them impatiently.

  “I think she’s jealous,” Sadie murmured.

  But Caleb wasn’t interested in a subject change. “Sadie.”

  “What?”

  “You know what.”

  “Look, I don’t know what that was, okay?” She lifted a shoulder. “Temporary insanity? Stupidity? Pick one.”

  He didn’t laugh. Instead, he gave another slow head shake, like maybe he didn’t know either, but then, with her face still sandwiched in his palms, with Lollipop on his foot, he kissed her again.

  And then again.

  Sadie . . . melted. That was the only word that worked for what happened to her. It was just that his body heat soaked into her and he smelled good, way too good, and she got drunk on it. She could feel herself curling closer, and then closer still for more. She wanted to take her mouth on a tour of his entire body, wanted to feel his muscles ripple and roll beneath her hands as she touched him. She wanted a whole hell of a lot of things, and each and every one of them shocked her.

  This time when he pulled back, it took her a long moment to focus, but when she did, she found him looking more uncertain than she’d ever seen him.

  “You’re right,” he murmured. “That’s definitely insanity—temporary or otherwise.” Then he took her by one hand and Lollipop by the leash and they walked down the alley to the street and to Ivy’s taco truck.

  Ivy grinned and waved at the sight of them, but as per the girl code, she didn’t say anything embarrassing. She did however surprise Sadie by coming out and giving Caleb a warm hug.

  “Thanks for the software update,” she said.

  “Anytime.”

  Ivy turned and hugged Sadie too, whispering in her ear, “That’s a good look for you, the happy glow.”

  Whoa. Was that really the look she was projecting?

  Ivy hopped back into her truck, all business now. “So. What can I get you?”

  Caleb turned to Sadie, gesturing for her to go first. “Um . . .” She eyed the menu she had memorized. Nerves demanded she go for comfort food. “Two trailer park tacos,” she said, mouth watering at the idea of the eggs, hash browns, cheese, and maple bacon tacos.

  “Double that,” Caleb said. “And add a side of grilled chicken for Lollipop, no heat.”

  They ate sitting at one of the two picnic benches near Ivy’s taco truck, their view being the marina at the bottom of the hill and the bay beyond that. Sadie was jaded about a lot of things, but she never got tired of that view.

  Afterward, Caleb offered to drive her and Lollipop home. She panicked. The forecast was for icy rain and record low temps, so she’d planned on sleeping in the Canvas Shop again for heat. “Why?” she asked.

  He was surprised at the question. “Because I have a car and you don’t?”

  “I have a car, it’s just being fixed,” she said. “And . . . I’m not going home yet. I’ve got some things I want to do in the tat shop.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. What she wanted was another heart-stopping kiss. And then there was the 90 percent of her that wanted to invite him home and jump him. Okay, make that 75 percent because she couldn’t remember if she’d shaved her legs that morning. Or what kind of undies she had on.

  Caleb walked her and Lollipop to the courtyard and seemed to be planning on escorting her all the way to the Canvas Shop. “You don’t have to walk me to the door,” she said.

  “I want to.” He looked at her and smiled. “Afraid you won’t be able to resist me?”

  “No.” Yes. She went for nonchalant, but on the inside she was trying not to collapse from the look of desire that crossed his face as they got to the door. He slowly slid one arm around her waist and pulled her into him as he cradled her head with his other hand. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with a tenderness she’d never before experienced.

  When the kiss ended, she just stared at him. “Still don’t know what that is.”

  He didn’t look concerned as he kissed her once more, not gently this time. She was panting when he pulled free and turned to go.

  “Are you serious?” she asked his back. “You’re just going to leave it like that?”

  He faced her. “Like what?”

  Unbearably turned on. And she could see he was too, hard for a man to hide it. “You could come in,” she said, the words escaping her before she could stop them. “Everyone’s gone for the night.”

  He walked back to her and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of what was going to happen now. And when he kissed her again, deeper this time, it was so good that she heard herself moan.

  But then he pulled back again. “Not yet,” he said.

  She gaped at him.

  One of his thumbs stroked over her bottom lip. “You haven’t decided if you like me or not,” he said and then he dropped his hands from her, bent to kiss Lollipop on top of her snout, and walked off.

  “And what does me liking you have to do with anything?” she asked and heard his low laugh as he vanished.

  Damn. Her heart was still pounding, body aching for things she was absolutely not going to give in to. Ever. The ratfink bastard. “It was definitely insanity,” she whispered to Lollipop. “Temporary insanity.”

  Chapter 10

  #WhatAboutSadie

  A week later, Sadie was sitting in the bridal shop on the ground floor of the Pacific Pier Building listening to her mom, her aunt Thea, and her older sister, Clara, go on and on—and on and on—about Clara’s upcoming wedding.

  The shop was new and tastefully decorated. The owner of the shop, Addie, was actually a client of Sadie’s. She’d tattooed over some scars Addie had wanted to not have to look at anymore.

  Sadie had recommended the shop to Clara, but now she felt a little sorry for Addie, who was stuck dealing with the chaos that was the Lane family women.

  “Sadie, are you even listening?” her mom asked.

  “Of course.” She totally wasn’t listening. She was eating from a big bag of salt and vinegar chips and daydreaming about the way Caleb had kissed her against the Canvas Shop’s door last week. No, wait, she’d kissed him. She’d kissed him and it’d been . . . She shook her head, still dizzy from the feel of his mouth on hers.

  It’d been a-maz-ing.

  Every time she thought about it, she got a hot flash. Either she was going through the change of life at twenty-eight, or she had it bad.

  Neither option appealed.

  So she stuffed another chip into her mouth and went back to daydreaming about how it’d felt to be hauled up against Caleb’s hard body, his hands gripping her like he didn’t want to let her go, and his mouth, God, that mouth—

  “Well then?”

  Sadie jumped a little and glanced up at Clara, who was in her bridal